Queen Elizabeth is not, at least in my rickety western civilization survey course memory, the kind of woman one associates with "cheap thrills," but I learned in Dancetime! 500 Years of Social Dance that her favorite dance was La Volta. As performed here, the primary step for the lady is being whisked up in the air by one's partner, twirled a bit and then returned to Earth briefly before being groped and lifted again. Fun for Lizzie? I daresay, though in the late Renaissance, this dance was said to have to caused miscarriages. I watched the first volume in this double-tape set, which covered 14 dances dating from the 15th-19th centuries (the second video is devoted entirely to the 20th century). The dances, performed by colorfully costumed dancers, range from the stately (Minuet) to the downright silly (Contredanses, hailing--not incidentally--from France) to the bizarre (the Tassel Kick--a martial arts kind of dance which Jackie Chan could probably perform in his sleep, but would give you or I a groin pull). Each historical period (Renaissance, Baroque, Regency, Romantic, Victorian) is introduced by rhyming couplets which set the social, cultural and political milieu. Although mildly entertaining (more so to serious hoofers), this is mostly performance--not dance history--the rhyming couplets more an exercise in name-dropping than insightful commentary. Optional. (R. Pitman)
Dancetime!: 500 Years of Social Dance
(2 videocassettes, 45 min. each., $39.95 each, Dancetime Publications, 415-453-2989) 8/17/98
Dancetime!: 500 Years of Social Dance
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